Random Thoughts…

That’s brothers and sisters worshipping together. I’ll be down there next week.

This 15-year-old made a profession of faith last night.

That’s Monica Dowell with her. Monica is a witnessing-machine! We will now look for evidence (fruit) in this young lady’s life that she has indeed been born again.

Our full-time missionary, Jason Church (shown below) and his wife Katie live in Weslaco, TX and are there to follow up and disciple…

It’s more than just going some place and “evangelizing.” Jesus said, “Go and make DISCIPLES.” Not just “converts.”

Work continues on the Temple for our sister church in Progreso. Stucco, stucco, stucco…

Randy Brooks and Eric Dowell…

Watch that first step Steve Bryan! It’s a doosey!!

Steve is leading our team. He’s doing the job of an elder.

Looks good, huh!

Pastor Brad…did you know Eric plays the guitar?

Some of my favorite times in all the world was with this guy in Alaba, Ethiopia as he played the guitar…

That’s Dr. David Black…singing “Pearly Shells,” and old favorite from Hawaii! I’m telling you folks…it doesn’t get any better than doing mission work… It’s a taste of heaven!

4 1/2 years ago this was one sad little fella…

My, my how a family who loves him…

four surgeries…

and Jesus has made such a difference in his life and Clara’s…

We’ve had Clara know for over 7 years.

I’m a blessed man!

Well, the garden is waiting for those beans to get running up those strings. Compliments of yours truly and Clara and Andrew…

News Flash!

Kandace is going to be singing on stage at the Grand Ole Opry in about a month…

Take a look at the poster above. Can you find Kandace? She is on the left side mid-way down. This is another highlight of our summer. Kandace is blessed to be able to harmonize with anything. She can literally harmonize with a car door bell. You know that dong, dong, dong, when your key is still in the ignition and you get out of the car. That’s a God-given talent I don’t have. Did I tell you that she’s a pretty awesome photographer?

We went on a photographer run Saturday afternoon. I drove and she got that shot above by just hanging out of the window of the car. Gotta love it!

She like outdoor shots…

Look closely…you’ll see her below…

Pretty good…if you ask me…

Kandace loves music and all kinds of instruments…

She just got her first ukulele. She’s pretty good… You can check out her first song here…

Random photo of three fantastic ladies…

I love this picture…

Travis and Nicole Collins and their daughter Reece (pictured above) joined the church recently. They were having a bit of trouble getting her to stop crying and Travis plugged in (me). 🙂 She recognized my voice from church and calmed right on down. Now folks…they doesn’t happen when children are stuck in our church nurseries. Nowhere in Scripture will you find the family NOT worshipping together. Try as you might…it’s just not there.

I love the church I’m privileged to help pastor/elder. It’s been around since 1875…

There’s the various buildings (above). We outgrew the sanctuary…

and in July of 2006, we moved into the “Reach Center.”

We’ve added 82 people this year since our church year started on October 1st. That’s not a typo. We have added 82 people this year to the church. I have met with each and every one of them and discussed church membership, listened to their salvation and experience and explained what it means to be a follower/disciple-maker for Christ. This is not something done flippantly. We are averaging 515 people each week (that’s up 30.4%) over last year. Am I bragging? I don’t mean to be… I’m just reporting only what God can do and I’m humbled to be a part of it.

Can I tell you one of the reasons I believe we are growing so much? It has to do with those first pictures in this blog post. See if you can figure it out. (Hint…it has something to do with the heart of God and the Great Commission, :).)

This is for all you souls longing for a lover, for all those girls dreaming of their white wedding dresses, for all those parents trying to hold their children’s hearts before they flutter away. This is for you. For all of you.

To begin with, I must ask a hard question. Here it is. How much of your life is defined by the culture? As a Christian, can you go through the Bible and use it to explain why you talk the way you talk, act the way you act and handle your relationships the way you do?

Looking back on earlier blog posts and things I have shared about dating relationships; I still fully stand behind what I have previously shared, but over the past few months that I have been married, God has broadened my approach even more. The main reason so many “Christian” people struggle with relationships is because they operate just like the secular culture in every other avenue of their lives, so their relationships are no more “Christian” than their non-Christian friends are.

I am married now, but that doesn’t remove me from the deep-rooted topic of dating and relationships. God keeps bringing this up in my heart. It has been a while since I have blogged on it.

Before we can even begin to understand the best way to be in a relationship with the opposite sex, we have to have a strong relationship with God. When you grasp true Christianity, you will have a desire to honor God in your relationships. You and I will never totally and perfectly be the children of God we should be, but we can’t let that excuse the complete secular way we often live.

So what is dating? Most of us know what it is. According to the “Urban Dictionary” it is: Of a couple, to be in the early stages of a relationship where they go out on dates to find out what each other is like, as a prelude to actually being a fully fledged couple.

Why do I think it is so dangerous? My answer is because it goes totally against Scripture. Actually, “dating” is so far removed from anything Biblical and is so heretical, the Bible doesn’t even address it. Aside from the Bible; dating isn’t even in history. It really sprung to life in the 1950s.

Dating allows a man and a woman (whether young or old) to spend time together alone. They hang out and “get to know each other.” But it is so far from marriage and is so easy, they can’t begin to imagine a lifelong commitment to the person. Dating is easy and playful and completely removed from the way life really goes after the wedding day.

Let me be honest. Being alone with someone you “like” or love from the opposite sex before marriage (or even with marriage not even in mind) is extremely dangerous. I know from experience. I have been there. My husband and I thought it wouldn’t be too hard to be alone for a few minutes at a time while we were engaged. It was as though we thought that since we were both strong Christians that temptation wouldn’t be so strong. But it was so strong. I wanted to kiss him so badly. We wanted to be close. We had to realize that longing is normal and good, but we had to stay with other people so our longings wouldn’t let us compromise our beliefs. It was hard. With all honesty it took God’s Word and Truth seeping into my heart every day to stay the route I knew I should walk.

Dating also prolongs the gap between “the awakening to the opposite sex” and marriage. Most children awaken to the fact that the opposite sex is attractive when they are in their preteens. Apparently, we have taken that and turned it into a good reason to send them off to “date.” Children turn into young adults and before we know it, they have dated for years and they have no real desire to marry because they don’t see a point with dating as a constant option.

Dating usually teaches us that we are “victims” of love. We “fall” into love when all is sweet and rosy. Dating avoids what happens when she is no longer pretty or he is no longer as handsome. Dating supports lust more than love.

Dearly beloved children of the One True God, decide and choose to revolve your life around God’s Word. Choose to wait for God to bring you the man or woman He has planned for you. Choose to love that one man or woman all the days of your life. If his hair falls out, whisper in his ear that he is still so handsome. If she wrinkles, kiss her cheeks and tell her that she is always your beautiful bride. When it is time to marry, stop waiting and say “I do.” Don’t rush while you date and then when you know he or she is the one, wait to get married. Reverse it and you will be doing a lot better.

God’s kind of love is almost the opposite of this world’s version of love. As we live in this backwards world, remember that we must be intentional about the way we live. Sitting on the fence of dating and waiting is a waste of your time. Do relationships the Biblical way. I promise it is worth it. I know, because I am proof.

For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession. Deuteronomy 14:2